There is a sting that hits at the end of a season, especially when it ends earlier than expected.
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Moments after Kentucky’s 82-63 loss to Iowa State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in March, a disappointed and pained Collin Chandler sat at his locker in the Enterprise Center in St. Louis and did something he hadn’t allowed himself to do before – consider his future.
“I tried to shut down all the talk (of transferring) whenever somebody tried to bring it up or when the idea came up, all talk of any portal stuff before the season was over,” Chandler told the “Y’s Guys” livestream show this week.
“I felt I owed it to the guys, to (head) coach (Mark) Pope, to all the coaches, to focus and lock in to the very end, until the buzzer sounded and it was over.”
Sitting there in St. Louis, it was over and the time had arrived for a game changing conversation.
Chandler signed with BYU out of Farmington High, and then followed Pope, the former Cougars coach, to Kentucky after his church mission to Sierra Leone, West Africa and London, England.
Two years later, and facilitated by the freedom of the transfer portal, the idea of moving back home grew more attractive by the day.
“I kinda knew,” Hannah Chandler told the “Y’s Guys” of her husband’s desire to play for BYU.
The pair of lifelong friends were married 13 months ago.
“Just with family and everybody talking about it and (Collin) not wanting to talk about it, so they would come talk to me about it, and they would say, ‘Don’t tell Collin!’”
Even as Kentucky marched through their up and down 2025-26 season, wherein Collin posted a season-high 23 points against Vanderbilt, the sharpshooter kept his eyes on what the Cougars were up to.
“I watched pretty much every game and was cheering for them. What a fun group to watch,” he said. “I don’t know if the thought (of playing at BYU) actually came into my mind, but since I watched them so much, I’m excited for how I am going to play with them.”
Decision day arrived in early April.
“We put a lot of prayer and thought into it and just wanted it to feel right,” Hannah said. “I just kind of let him decide on his own. I didn’t want to put in too much or not enough, just kind of being there as a listener.”
Collin entered the transfer portal on April 9.
“Hannah has gotten a lot of flack for my transfer — more than I have,” he said. “I think people thought she swayed me to come home. It was a lot of conversations and prayer together.”
And a temple visit.
“We went to the temple with my parents and that was the night that we wanted to figure it out,” Collin said. “We told my parents on the ride home.
“I think being home brings another aspect to the game that we are excited for.”
Collin announced his commitment to BYU on April 11. When he helps lead the Cougars against Ohio State in the Nov. 2 season opener at the Delta Center, his BYU debut will come nearly five years and a lot of miles from the day he made his original commitment on Nov. 10, 2021 in the Farmington High gymnasium.
Kevin Young and the Cougars get a 6-foot-5 guard who shot 41% from the field and 39% from the three-point line while averaging 9.7 points in 31 starts last season.
BYU also gets a guy whose mettle has already faced the refiner’s fire of the SEC.
“I watched the Big 12 all year. The similar physicality that is required to play is something I had to learn, something I had to fight for,” he said.
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“In the SEC, you are playing the Florida Gators, and it feels like they are playing three huge centers the whole game and making things difficult. Coming into the Big 12, where Arizona, Kansas and others are big, I’ve gotten a feel for that a little bit.”
Doing hard things
Not long after finishing his decorated career at Farmington High, Chandler left on a two-year church mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that started in Africa and ended in England.
It is there where he learned he could do hard things.
“It’s not always easy and great and awesome and sunshine. Literally in London, not much sunshine,” he said as he battled human nature that adds weight to the daily grind with “I don’t want to get up and serve. I want to think about myself. That was so hard for a while.”
In time, as with his jump shot, Chandler figured it out.
“I think that was a huge growing moment for me as a person, learning consistency when I don’t want to do things,” he said. “I had to learn to love it and have fun in things that I didn’t have the desire to do at that moment.
“It’s come with basketball. Even though it’s a game and you love it, some days you don’t feel as motivated to go put in the extra work and have a good attitude, especially when you are leading, to bring energy and be vocal. That’s something I’ve learned as a person that’s helped me a ton.”
Chandler was a celebrity around Lexington, with autograph seekers and picture takers at every turn. There will be plenty of that at BYU — and something much more meaningful.
“It’s different here because you get to have a platform with people who have the same beliefs as you,” he said. “At the (BYU) fathers and sons (camp), I got to speak to all the kids and share my experience about my mission and hopefully let the Spirit touch them and inspire them to go serve the Lord.
“I think it’s just a cool opportunity and a special platform.”
Tying the knot
The Chandlers didn’t get married until May 8, 2025, but they tied the knot way back in the third grade.
“I saw her one time (and) she was tying her shoes,” Collin said. “She was doing, like, two bunny ears and it was taking two minutes.”
“We were touching knees,” Hannah remembered.
“I was like, ‘You know, there is a faster way you can do that, so I taught her how to tie her shoes,” Collin said.
The two have been tied to each other ever since.
“I’m glad that we started it as a friendship,” Collin said, “because I think that built a huge foundation for us to continue our relationship.”
A relationship that has come to Provo where the pressure of the SEC has been swapped out for the Big 12 — arguably an even better basketball conference, which poses challenges for both Collin and Hannah.
“When I watch it’s a struggle for me and his mom (Jennifer),” Hannah said. “His mom can’t even watch. I’m telling her what’s going on.
“You do feel the pressure because I love him, I care about him and I want him to succeed.”
The sting from March’s defeat against Iowa State and his two-year run at Kentucky is long gone for Collin Chandler — replaced with renewed hope, optimism and a lot of home cooking at BYU.
Even better, the former Deseret News Mr. Basketball honoree will get another shot at the Cyclones when Iowa State comes to Provo this winter and possibly another one in the Big 12 Tournament.
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com
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